Sooners end their Irish hex

Oklahoma's Geneo Grissom tackles Notre Dame running back George Atkinson III in the second half. Atkinson rushed for a game-high 148 yards, thanks to an 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Oklahoma's Geneo Grissom tackles Notre Dame running back George Atkinson III in the second half. Atkinson rushed for a game-high 148 yards, thanks to an 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Photo: Photos By Darron Cummings / Associated Press

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Oklahoma's Damien Williams stiff arms his way out of a tackle attempt by Notre Dame's Bennett Jackson during the first half.

Oklahoma's Damien Williams stiff arms his way out of a tackle attempt by Notre Dame's Bennett Jackson during the first half.

Sooners end their Irish hex

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Oklahoma finally found a way to beat Notre Dame.

The 14th-ranked Sooners took advantage of three interceptions, two in the first three minutes as they jumped to a 14-0 lead, and Blake Bell passed for two touchdowns to lead the Sooners to a 35-21 victory over the 22nd-ranked Fighting Irish on Saturday.

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The win ended a seven-game losing streak to Notre Dame and was just the second in 11 meetings for the Sooners against the Irish, including one that ended an NCAA-record 47-game winning streak in 1957.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, an Irish Catholic who grew up in Ohio and downplayed the history aspect all week, conceded the victory was especially gratifying.

“Now that it's happened this way, I'm pleased, and I sure am glad for those older Oklahomans that have been through all those games Notre Dame had beaten us. We get some level of satisfaction winning this one,” he said. “Who knows when we'll play again? So they can live it up and say, 'We got you' last until we go again.”

Colleges

The Sooners (4-0) took control with the interceptions. Notre Dame QB Tommy Rees didn't see Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker blitzing and was hit from behind, popping the ball loose, and linebacker Corey Nelson caught it and returned it 24 yards for a TD.

On Notre Dame's next play from scrimmage, Rees' pass ricocheted off the arm of receiver TJ Jones, and linebacker Frank Shannon bobbled it before returning it 17 yards to the Notre Dame 32. The Sooners scored another TD four plays later on an 11-yard run by Damien Williams.

Irish coach Brian Kelly was surprised by the slow start.

“You never expect to not pick up the simplest of stunts and have your quarterback get the ball stripped. You never expect not to run the right route when you're supposed to,” he said. “The turnovers for us were too much to overcome.”

After Notre Dame (3-2) played a nearly perfect game in beating the Sooners last season, with no turnovers and just one penalty for 5 yards, Oklahoma was the one that made the fewest mistakes Saturday. The Sooners, who managed just 15 yards rushing against the Irish last season, finished with 212.

Bell, making his second career start, wasn't as impressive as he was when he passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns in a 51-20 win over Tulsa, but he was good enough to lead the Sooners over the Irish. He was 22 of 30 for 232 yards and two TDs.

“He was really sharp. He put the ball where it needed to be, finding the right guys, going through his reads,” Stoops said.

Bell, who threw a 26-yard TD pass to Lacoltan Bester to cap an 88-yard drive after an interception by cornerback Julian Wilson late in the second quarter, said the victory was especially satisfying.

“We felt like we left some stuff on the field last year. Obviously we didn't come up with a win last year, so we really wanted this one bad, especially coming on the road,” Bell said.

Rees struggled for a second straight game. After three straight games of passing for more than 300 yards, he was 9 of 24 for 104 yards.